Dell Succeeds
by Raefever
Summary: What if Dell succeeded the first time?


Dell stalked up to the trailer door, rope in hand along with a chloroform soaked rag, he pressed on the door, pleased it was unlocked. God he hoped she was a heavy sleeper. Dell got lucky. He somehow managed to tie rope around her limbs without waking her, he readied himself to put up a fight.

He pushed the soaking rag into her face, at last startling her awake, desperately pulling at the ropes that bound her arms and legs. He made sure to keep his hand tight over her mouth so she couldn't wake the neighbours with her voice.

Once she was well out of it, he clapped a pillow over her face and jabbed a knee into her belly to end it all by suffocating her. Amazon Eve's final defeat.

But once he completed what he believed was his hardest task, he stumbled across an entirely new issue. How to haul a woman twice his size to a shed in the middle of nowhere. Oh how he wished he killed Ma Petite instead, he could simply slip her body under his coat.

He could drive the truck up to the caravan door, someone could hear him and ask what he's doing though. It would just be easier to pull the limp body onto his shoulders and bring it to the truck, he just hoped no one would see.

He checked. Nobody was outside, no freaks, no one. He didn't get too far from her trailer. It was hard not drop her, she wasn't too heavy, but she was twice his height. The lack of light made it hard to see where he was, she was starting to slip off his shoulders. Then she fell. Straight to the floor with a thud, he could see where he was, outside a caravan, Jimmy's caravan.

His worst fear came true… Jimmy opened the door.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jimmy looked straight at him, then his eyes dropped to the floor, Dell could see the horror shoot through his son.

"What did you do!" Jimmy fell to his knees, put his hand to Eve's face to feel for her breathing, then he listened. It wasn't there. He screamed out, "She's not breathing!"

Penny pushed her head out of Paul's door, Ethel poked out from her own Caravan too. It didn't take long, they came running. Desiree leapt from Ethel's trailer. Paul stumbled out his own.

"What the bloody hell!"

"Dell! What's going on?"

"Eve! Evie, sweetheart wake up!"

Penny saw Desiree draw a gun, she took a step back. Paul crouched down next to Jimmy, over his friend. His ear went to her chest, he wanted to check, he needed to know she really was dead. Maybe a miraculous miracle, but he heard a beat, not just one, as far apart as they were, they were there.

"She not dead, Penny go use Elsa's phone for an ambulance!" Paul was yelling, Penny was running.

Dell didn't dare move, Desiree would shoot him if he did, he couldn't move anyway, he knew what he'd just done. He wasn't proud.

Penny shouldn't have just bust in, but it was an emergency, Elsa was livid of course. She calmed down when she listened to what Penny was yelling down the phone line. She ran out the tent to join the others. Dell was on his knees, Desiree's pistol pressed to the back of his head. More people gathered, Toulouse, Suzi, Maggie, Bette and Dot, Pepper with Ma Petite and Salty.

"Evie, please, just wake up." Jimmy pleaded over and over, why did it have to be his best friend?

Ambulances were always reluctant to drive out to them, they knew it always took longer than it should. It wasn't fair, one of them was going to die because someone was scared. Now more than ever, they needed someone to see them as normal. But finally it came, carrying the worlds tallest woman away, possibly never to return.

Pepper handed Ma Petite off to Jimmy before he climbed into the truck along with Paul, Suzi, Maggie Desiree, Toulouse, and Penny in the drivers seat, Dell in the back with his hands tied in a knot that would hopefully hold and a gun pointed at him. They shot up the road at a colossal speed, never far behind the ambulance. They pulled off the road at the hospital and watched as they wheeled her in, her legs hung over the edge. They walked in together, Desiree stayed behind in the truck, looking at Dell, making sure he didn't suddenly become Houdini and waltz on out.

* * *

"Why'd ya do it Dell?" Desiree leaned in closer with the gun.

"I… I was being blackmailed."

"Whoever, and whatever they were blackmailing you with, was it worth this?"

"You don't understand, I… I,"

"I understand perfectly what you did, you killed a freak Dell, you killed one of your own."

"She ain't dead yet."

"You and I both know it ain't gonna be Amazon Eve walking back out of that door."

"How'd ya kill her?"

"What?"

"How did you kill her!" Desiree blared.

"I suffocated her."

"I don't know what I ever saw in you Dell."

* * *

"Paul why don't you take the others home, I'll stay here with ma."

"I don't think I can do that Jimmy."

"Paul, you need to go back and rest, me and ma, we'll take care of Evie."

Paul took a seat, "I'm not going," he retaliated, crossing his legs.

"Fine, but everyone else needs to go back to camp." The others whispered their yeses and nodded back.

Penny kissed Paul on the cheek, "Bye sweetheart."

"Be careful, ok?"

So the three sat in silence, silently waiting. Not wanting to hear anything but good news. The quiet murmurs of the doctors and nurses didn't fill them with confidence exactly.

"You can go in now." Best words they heard all night.

* * *

Beep, beep… beep. Slow but definitely there. Long, flipper fingers clapped his shoulder. Red pyjamas, blue-ish tinged skin, sizeable black bruise and loose, curly, brown hair. The real life gentle giant slept.

"Is she gonna be okay?" The nurse didn't dare nod or shake her head, she just looked them up and down as she left through the door.

"Even if she lives it won't be our Evie walking outta here." Paul leaned over his friend, once more taking in the sight of her broken body. Jimmy deep down knew that all along. She wasn't breathing for at the very least ten minutes, enough to cause severe brain damage. Jimmy knew it was likely she hadn't been breathing for longer than that. More than fifteen minutes and she was dead for sure.

Ethel crawled into a chair beside the bed, grasped Eve's hand as she sat down. Jimmy walked around to grab the other hand, his finger ran gently over her bruised knuckle. Why would Dell do something like this? And to someone so innocent too. Evie wouldn't hurt anyone without a reason. As intimidating as she looked she was the sweetest gal he knew, like he said, the gentle giant. If Dell had snuck up on her in her sleep she could've defended herself, so why didn't she?

Jimmy's finger moved up and down, over and over, then he let it wonder further over her hand onto her wrist, it felt strange, there was a bump on it. He pulled at her shirt sleeve until he had uncovered the burn mark that looped around her wrist.

"Hey, look at this," Jimmy breathed, holding up her limp wrist for the others to see.

"God, he must've tied her down," Paul leaned over the bed to look," and look at that bruise on her stomach, ugh." Jimmy's face screwed up in disgust as he pulled the blanket over her again until it covered her up to her chest. He looked over and noticed his ma was beginning to doze off. And Paul, who was trying his best but failing horribly at keeping his eyes open. There were no more chairs, his ma was sleeping already and Paul needed to rest after going through his own ordeal with Elsa and her knife throwing, so Jimmy kept awake. He sat on the bed, still holding Evie's hand. He was scared. Jimmy Darling was terrified, for himself and for his friends. They would destroy Dell later. Unless Desiree already shot him to death.

Jimmy felt the cold prick at his skin. He realised he was wearing his pyjama shirt and the oldest pair of pants he owned. He probably looked horrendous. Though that didn't matter much to him now, all Jimmy's thoughts were set on the sounds of the wheezing tube forcefully shoved down Eve's throats to allow her to breath and the unsteady beats of the heart monitor. His own heart felt fit to stop every time he thought he didn't hear the beep. He let his stomach ache with concern as he held her hand. No matter what happens, Jimmy Darling would not let his friend ride the midnight train alone. He couldn't let her go all alone. He knew about her childhood on the streets, about how isolating it felt, even worse than the confines of the freak show he grew up on, because out in the world you truly are on your own, no one in the world would be willing to fight your side.

He would walk out of here with her even if it's the last thing they did together.

 _Don't think like that Jimmy, this is just a minor issue, Eve will walk out that door in a week and then you'll be on your way, no questions asked! But who am I kidding, Evie won't even be able to lift her head, let alone walk out the door. Why am I even getting my hopes up? Eve won't live until the morning and I know that!_

God always had a funny plan for their kind, and if this was hers, then so be it!

Then Jimmy looked up again and saw something was off. Eve's bandanna wasn't tied around her head. The nurse must have taken it off. She looked funny without it. And as Jimmy looked about the room he saw the square of fabric laying out on the window sill. He took it in his hand, folding it with great care, he finally let her hand go just for a moment so he could tie it over her hair.

Her eyes were open when he pulled his fused fingers away, and if she could, Jimmy would have swore a smile too. But Jimmy barely had the time to smile back. His world stopped. Just like her heart. His ears rang. The machine stopped beeping and started singing its death call. Ethel and Paul shot awake. Just a second too late. They wouldn't get to see her final smile or see the last glimpse of her life. Only Jimmy would ever get to see. No one but him would bare the burden. The last thing he knew Evie saw was him smiling back. The nurses couldn't do anything but unhook the heart machine and pull out the tube. His gal was gone. No one and nothing could ever bring her back. None of her thoughts or sarcastic remarks would ever be made again.

Jimmy held her until she was cold and stiff.

* * *

He was calm until he saw Dell's face.

Then he screamed.

Because then he saw the face of a murderous man.

He couldn't be calmed.

He shouted at him.

Said things like, "You Killed her!"

And, "You son of a bitch!"

Most of what he yelled was the truth.

Elsa let Jimmy choose how to kill him.

Jimmy chose to let Dell be cut to pieces.

Threw the bits in a river.

Dell wouldn't let them kill him without spilling a bit of information.

As Jimmy buried a woman, a friend, a family member, he reread the letter he wrote to make sure it was perfect.

Dear Eve, Amaz

 **No**

 _My Dearest Evie,_

 _You didn't die in vain, Dell gave some information to us before he died. The Richard fellow blackmail Dell into this because he is in fact collecting freaks for a museum. We plan to put him through hell. I want you to know without your sacrifice many more of us may have met our ends, we will try our best to convince Elsa to give a show in your honour._

 _We don't know what to do with your trailer, or any of your clothes. I kept one of your bandanas, I hope you don't mind. I miss you, I miss you a lot. We all do, so much._

 _Take care of Meep up there too, and keep an eye out for ma, she ain't doing so good either._

 _No one could cry more than little Ma Petite, she misses you so much. Her little face when I told the others you were gone. Nothing could make your heart break more._

 _I hope to see you again one day,_

 _Jimmy Darling_


End file.
